Mar. 24, 2017, 5:16 p.m.

In a lively panel Friday at Pitzer College, education leaders and experts on race, immigration and civil rights gathered before dozens of students and professors to discuss the future of liberal arts education in today's political climate.

"We do have an obligation to create a safe space here, but we will have differences in opinion. We have donors who have threatened to withdraw their resources because we are 'breaking the law' — which we are not," said Melvin Oliver, Pitzer's new president, who in November became one of the first to declare a college as sanctuary.

"So this is the situation that we find ourselves in... we are going to have to take grave stances that may cost us."

Feb. 16, 2018, 3:00 a.m.

Alysia Evans' son was 4 in 2013, when a man went on a shooting rampage in Santa Monica, killing five people before officers killed him. Her son was in preschool a few blocks from Santa Monica College, where the attack came to an end.

The preschool was placed on lockdown that day, and everyone there was safe, but "it's the first panic attack I've had in my life," said Evans, an attorney who lives on the Westside.

Feb. 14, 2018, 8:45 p.m.

A former student who had been expelled for disciplinary reasons opened fire at a South Florida high school Wednesday, killing 17 people and wounding at least a dozen others, authorities said.

The suspected gunman, Nikolas Cruz, 19, was quickly arrested "without incident" after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said. Cruz had made "disturbing" posts on social media before the attack, Israel said.

Feb. 14, 2018, 3:35 p.m.

The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday approved a three-year benefits package that contains some costs but falls well short of the savings that district officials say is needed to keep the school system solvent.

The 60,000 employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District are not among the nation's highest paid, but most enjoy comprehensive medical benefits for themselves and their families without paying monthly premiums. Such subsidies are rare in the workplace.

Feb. 13, 2018, 6:35 p.m.

A boy who was wounded in a shooting at Sal Castro Middle School nearly two weeks ago has been released from a hospital but still has a bullet in his head, his former teacher said.

A bullet struck 12-year-old Issa Al-Bayati in his skull, but didn't hit any vital organs, said Bridgette Robinson, who instructed Al-Bayati in English, science and English language development at the school last year. The teacher said he will require additional treatment.

Feb. 13, 2018, 5:00 a.m.

Each year, California invites students who are in the country without legal permission to apply for the same financial aid packages available to others. But officials once again are concerned that fears are keeping those they want to help from seeking the funding.

Feb. 11, 2018, 6:00 p.m.

In something of an upset, El Camino Real Charter High School has won the 2018 Academic Decathlon for the Los Angeles Unified School District, officials announced Sunday.

Though El Camino, located in Woodland Hills, was clearly an academic powerhouse in this competition, the win ran counter to recent form because Granada Hills Charter High has triumphed repeatedly. Granada Hills won the L.A. crown on its way to the 2017 national championship — its third straight.